[TenTec] Orion II S meter

[Ken Waites]

Well , speaking only for myself, I will not worry one second about S-meter accuracy -- if there is such a thing.

I think S meter readings are as important as the signal report you get during a contest or DXpedition - everybody is 599.  Be happy, but improve your antenna anyway.

All it does for me is provide a comparison for when the person on the other end switches from A to B -- "yep that one is stronger", i.e. its only the comparison that matters.  If anyone thinks going from +15 over to +20 over means they got 5 db more ...  -- well, I think there may be better measuring techniques.  Only "you are a bit stronger than before" matters.

Q: "Was that with the preamp on or off?"  "Did you have your antenna directly on me?"  Is the gain linear? Did you have parallax problems reading the meter?   
A: "Gees, I gave you a 30 over report -- what else do you want?"